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Wikination:Lovian politics for starters
Welcome to our tutorial about Lovian politics. This tutorial wishes to show users around in the sometimes complex system of Lovian politics and policy-making. It provides answers to questions like: * Is Lovia a democracy and what kind of state is it? * Who governs Lovia? * Is there a court of law in this country? * Who writes the law and how does it work? * How many states are there and what powers do they have? * What political parties are there in Lovia, and what do they stand for? Reading through this tutorial will help any user a long way in the Lovian system of politics. A basic knowledge of the country's Congress, government, states, law and political parties can be of huge value! In general is Lovia's ruling monarch, he has some reserved powers in the country; however, recent legal initiatives have lowered his actual power.]] Lovia is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. This means that: * Lovia has a Constitution, a supreme law written and approved by the Congress, that applies to all inhabitants. * Lovia has a monarch, who exercises some specific powers and plays a symbolic role. * Lovia has a parliament, called the Congress, which has great legislative power. This country is organized as a democracy wherein all citizens have equal rights. Congress, the Prime Minister and the Governors and Deputy Governors are elected democratically by those citizens. The ruling monarch is not elected: he or she inherits the throne by lineage. Levels and branches Lovia used to have several levels of government, from sublocal (neighborhoods) to federal (the nation). In the 2010 State Reform (Sixth Amendment), two of these levels were abolished and the remaining levels were redesigned. The current system has two levels and three branches. First of all, there is the federal level, which consists of: * the Lovian government with a Prime Minister and a number of Secretaries with their own departments; * the Congress, which has all legislative power; * the Supreme Court, which has all judicial power in Lovia. Then there is the state level. This encompasses the five states of Lovia (Clymene, Kings, Oceana, Seven and Sylvania). Each of those states is governed by a Governor, who is assisted by a Deputy Governor. Both are elected in annual state elections. The states have little power and mainly decide on local issues, such as urban planning, roads and waterways, parks, etc. Federal government The nation's federal government is led by a Prime Minister (incumbent: Oos Wes Ilava). There are several ministers who each have their own department, known as a ministry. Actually, Lovian ministers have only limited power. They do appoint chairmen/chairwomen to several Lovian institutions who tend to have more actual influence in Lovia. The ruling monarch is King Sebastian I of Lovia. He inherited the throne from his ancestors. King Arthur I of Lovia was the archipelago's discoverer and first leader. The monarchs share a common Belgian ancestry and tend to be progressive and non-religious, although the current King, Sebastian, is reportedly Christian but choses to remain a bit silent on the matter. As of 2013, the monarch has little legal power in Lovia. However, he still has informal influence over the country. For example, the King may enforce laws and assist in Congress. Congress and law in Lovia ' is a democratic parliament and the most powerful institution in the country]] ' is Lovia's supreme law]] As a matter of fact, the Lovian Congress is the country's most powerful institution. All legal power inheres to the Congress: they are the only ones who can write or amend the laws of Lovia. They also have a lot to say when it comes to executive powers. Congress always has 100 members. In the 2012 First Congress, there are a number of different parties and factions. The largest party in Congress is the Conservative Christian Party of Lovia. See the chapter on political parties for more information. Members of the Congress (MOTCs) are elected during federal elections, which take place in January of each year. After the end of elections, the votes are totalled and each candidate receives a proportional number of seats to the number of votes they obtained. Coalitions are then formed between parties with similar goals to achieve a majority of at least 51 seats, at which point a proposal for a new government is made. In Lovia, elections are a democratic process. All citizens - including the King - can participate and have equal chances. In the most recent January elections, the Conservative Christian Party of Lovia won the most seats, and Oos Wes Ilava of the Conservative Christian Party of Lovia became Prime Minister, having obtained support from politicians across the political spectrum. He currently leads a grand coalition containing almost every party in Congress. All members are democratically elected to Congress. Before the 2011 State Reform, the ruling monarch was not elected; instead he was a Member by Right. The next federal elections will take place in January 2014, or possibly earlier. Candidacies open in December 2013. Lovia has a system of organic law. There is the Constitution, the country's supreme law, and the Federal Law. The Constitution prescribes and describes the political mechanisms of the country, as well as how courts of law happen, what rights people have, etc. Only a two thirds majority in Congress can amend it. The original 2007 Constitution was written by Prince Dimitri of Lovia, and has been amended ten times over the past three years. The Federal Law contains all other bills passed by Congress. There are laws on education, alcohol consumption, police organization, etc. A normal majority (i.e. more than half of Congress) needs to be in favor of Federal Law bills to pass them. Supreme Court ' in Noble City is where all lawsuits take place]] The Supreme Court is Lovia's only court of law, to which all judicial power inheres. The Supreme Court Judge, appointed by the Secretary of Justice along with Congressional approval. The current justice is Arthur Jefferson, a jurist and independent politician. In this court, lawsuits between private parties, government branches, states or companies are held. The Constitution describes the processes of such lawsuits. States The Kingdom of Lovia is divided into five states (capitals between parentheses): * Clymene (Sofasi) * Kings (Newhaven) * Oceana (Hurbanova) * Seven (Kinley) * Sylvania (Noble City) Each of these states is led by a Governor, who is elected in annual state elections. The following domains inhere to the Governor's power: * Naming, organizing and maintaining urban parks, public places, streets, markets, roads (with the exclusion of highways), waterways, natural areas and environmentally significant places that are not protected by the federal government, and culturally significant monuments that are not protected by the federal government. * Informing the state population about the various aspects of the state, the federal government and its policies. * Construction and planning of neighborhoods and hamlets. * Bringing the people of Lovia and the different levels and branches of government closer to one another. * Advising the Lovian Congress on issues related to the particular state. * Advising federal institutions in relation to protected natural regions and culturally significant locations and monuments in the particular state. The Deputy Governor is elected in the same state elections; he or she succeeds the Governor if that person resigns from office. The Deputy Governor does not have any formal powers by law. The next state elections will take place in October 2012, with nominations in September 2012. Flag ']] The Lovian flag is divided in two halves, one navy blue and one red. In the center, there is a white pine tree. The flag is a well-known national symbol. Language The majority of the inhabitants of Lovia is fluent in English. The variety spoken on the archipelago is Lovian English. It is very much alike American English and uses the same spelling conventions. There are Dutch-speaking minorities in the country. They usually descend from early Dutch and Belgian settlers, or they are more recent migrants from Libertas. Other languages spoken at home sometimes include German, Chinese, Italian, French, Spanish, Russian, Danish, Limburgish, etc. In the state of Oceana, a local language named Oceana or Narasha 'Oshenna. It largely originates in Eastern European languages, such as Slovak. It is recognized as a regional language and is protected from extinction. Political parties ' was a major national party until the resignation of party leader Yuri Medvedev; they are a marxist political party with progressive and socialist ideals, and have had an enormous impact on the Lovian political landscape. They continue to exist as a smaller party.]] Until recently, parties did not play an important role in Lovian politics. In the Federal Elections, 2010, which took place in January, parties arose as powerful political tools. In the current Congress, there are several political parties at work. For more info, see List of political parties in Lovia and 2013 Congress. The most significant parties at the moment are: * ██ 'Conservative Christian Party of Lovia' ('CCPL'), a very independent conservative Christian-democratic party. The party, led by Oos Wes Ilava, supports several social and environmental programs, but is conservative when it comes to Bible-related issues. The members range from centrist to libertarian to rightist to Christian-democratic. * ██ 'Conservative Nationalist Party' ('CNP'), a conservative party with libertarian ideals. The party is led by Lukas Hoffmann. The party is economically classical liberal and socially libertarian and sponsors civic nationalism. Socially, they have been considered by some to be progressive. They believe heavily in small government, devolved powers and individualism. * ██ 'United Left' ('UL'), a progressive environmentalist party. The party is led by Justin Abrahams, and was formed by the merger of the Labour Party, some smaller leftist parties, and Abrahams' group of independents. The viewpoints of the party range from socialist to centre-leftist. * ██ 'Social Liberal Party' ('SLP'), an economically centrist party. It is very progressive in social issues, and supports abortion, LGBT rights, and reduced monarchy powers. * ██ 'Green Party' ('GP'), an environmental party with moderate leftist economic viewpoints. Nicholas Sheraldin leads the party, which is socially liberal and progressive. * ██ 'Positive Lovia' ('PL'), a moderate right party with classical liberal and libertarian viewpoints. It favors minimally regulated markets, limited government, strong civil liberties (including support for LGBT rights) and economic freedoms. It firmly holds to the belief that the needs of the people should be placed before those of their government. There are less powerful parties, as well as joke parties, local parties and one-issue parties. Look at List of political parties in Lovia for more. And now... how do I become a politician? 1. Become a citizen There are a few steps you have to take before you can launch yourself in the exciting political scene: # Make sure you are '''registered' on Wikination. It's free and without obligations whatsoever. Log in any time you come around. # Check whether you have a residence somewhere in Lovia. You can "buy" yourself a house or apartment in one of the country's cities or villages. An example of a neighborhood where you can settle: Bayside. # Any user with a residence can become a citizen. There are two more requirements though: #* you must have made at least 50 contributions to the website as a logged-in member; #* you have been around for at least four days. # If you have not vandalized, the wiki administators will ask you to fill in a citizen registry. Then you can call yourself a citizen of Lovia. 2. Join a party, or not Being a citizen, you have many options. You can choose to join a political party. You could also choose not to do so. Many politicians in Lovia have been and still are independent. Parties do have advantages, especially in elections. But don't go party hopping: Lovians don't like that too much. 3. Get elected Then, you could become a candidate in an election. There are three types of elections: * State elections, in which Governors and Deputy Governors are elected. Make sure you are familiar with the state you will be running in when you start campaigning. The next state elections will take place in October 2012. * Federal elections, in which Members of the Congress are elected. They take place in January of each year. It's a great opportunity to launch yourself in national politics. The amount of votes one gets is proportional to the amount of seats they will receive in Congress at the end of the elections. The next elections are in January 2014, unless Congress is dissolved before then. Candidacies start in December 2013. If Lovians turn out to like your political style, you'll probably be elected. Also, a Member of the Congress can be chosen to become a minister of one of several ministries (or the Prime Minister), which constitute the executive branch of the Federal Government of Lovia. 4. Or not At last, you can be appointed to several offices, without having to be elected. The National Park Service or Federal Police leaders, for example, are appointed by a Federal Secretary. Secretaries usually appoint somebody with great knowledge and skill in the specific line of work. See also * Lovia Category:Tutorial Category:Politics